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Monday, July 30, 2007

After an absence of nine months, I decided I should return to fitball. You might know what it's like to lapse from exercise; ever so easy to do, and ever so hard to start again. Fitball is usually a reasonably gentle activity, challenging yet allowing time to feel your muscles work in the correct ways.

The length of absence is ironic, since the reason I gave up fitball is that I was pregnant, and confided this to the teacher, whom I was pretty matey with. In the recovery from my miscarriage, I didn't feel like exercising, and then when I did feel a bit inclined to go back, I didn't feel like explaining to yet another person that the whole thing had gone awry. Going back now wasn't premeditated, I just feel saggy and sloppy and my osteopath recently gave me the hard word about my posture and flexibility (and since he was putting the full weight of his elbow into my back muscles at the time, I made a solemn promise that I would start exercising properly again).

Imagine my dismay when I fronted up to class on Saturday to find not Jordan, the cheery eye-candy that usually takes the Saturday class, but TITANIA, DARK PRINCESS OF PAIN. Who likes to make you jump and bounce to some dreadful Abba cover disco mix (I typed 'dicso', which is probably the best word for bad disco) at three times your comfort level. And then squat and bounce and lunge and bounce and hold it

until your frigging thighs explode.

Today I'm walking like an 80-year old. Yesterday I was over 90, so I guess I'm heading in the right direction. Next time I go I will ring first to check if J is back.

CRANKY

I just finished laying out a very interesting PhD thesis for a colleague at the art school. Unfortunately, I was given the manuscript before it was properly copy-edited, and I'd never been in that situation before. What I now realise is that I should have given it back until it had been thoroughly copy-edited, and then transformed it into a thing of beauty and grace. As it was, I was still receiving long lists of corrections last night (it was due at the printery this morning), and they were corrections that should have been made long before, things like standardising the footnotes.

So all you lovely PhD bloggers -- and I know there are lots of you out there, procrastinating away, or telling yourselves you're 'gathering cultural material', heh -- if you plan on using someone to make your thesis look beautiful, please have it completely and utterly copy-edited to within an inch of its final page before you do anything decorative to it. Remember, if it's laid out in a graphics application, and you make substantive changes, it's going to drastically change the spacing and layout on nearly every page, especially if there are images involved. And there will be curses. Unforgiveable curses. Sparking green off the walls.

MOMEA

In other news, while I was waiting for changes to be emailed and disks to burn, I amused myself by finally getting that 'Man of Middle-Eastern Appearance' t-shirt design on to CafePress. It's not the colour design I came up with last year; I found an almost cooler Christ, and the best thing about him is that he's chuckin' the horns.

I've started playing with some more ideas, including the RANDOM NANNA design, so watch that space.

TYPE n ALL

I had a marvellous Book class today. They all overcame their fear of letterpress and spent four straight hours setting their type, to a theme of MOCK-UP. I had to prod them to take breaks, and most of them didn't stop when the four hours was up, continuing on for another hour or two. I finally just had to say 'right-o, I'm having my lunch' at 2.30! Such keen little bunnies. Next week we'll be printing, and I'll show you some results.

READING AND LISTENING

I really enjoyed Lionel Shriver's We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Female of the Species. But I read The Post-Birthday World last week and hated it. Halfway through the book I couldn't believe there was still half to go. It's one big long slow rationalisation for what seems (from what I've read about her) to be her own relationship decisions, and it probably pressed too many of my own buttons about decisions I've made. But essentially it was dull, and unsurprising, the opposite of the other two books. I'd be interested in anyone else's thoughts on it.

And I'm revisiting my love affair with Ricki Lee Jones, playing my old records (Ricki Lee Jones and Pirates) and looping a couple of more recent cds: It's Like This and The Evening of my Best Day (the former is mostly covers, and the latter is extremely anti-Bush). Fabulous, both for music and lyrics. And Bumblebee approves, loving it all as much as I do. Hooray!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

You enjoy living a slow, fulfilling life. You enjoy living every moment, no matter how ordinary.You are a person of reflection and meditation. You start and end every day by looking inward.Caring and giving, you enjoy making people happy. You're often cooking for friends or buying them gifts.All in all, you know how to love life for what it is - not for how it should be.

Yaa boo sucks to the Umbridge-like woman who stubbornly and deliberately blocked me out of her lane today while I was driving to work.

I tried very politely to change lanes, indicating appropriately, attempting to be considerate and apologetic, but she thinned her lips and declared war, even accelerating and slowing when necessary to prevent me from getting in front OR behind. When I finally got in (behind her, of course) and made my almost instant right turn into the university, I took a deep breath and wished her a most unhappy time in finding parking today. In not so similar terms.

Ahem. I, on the other hand, found a park straight away, which is quite unusual.

postscript

Heh, catching up with this brightened up the dusky bit of the day. Nothing like a bit of quality cattiness.

I think what I was trying to say in that last post is that it makes no difference whether HP lives or dies, or who else lives or dies in the book; the main thing that is going to be felt on a global HP fan level is a sense of emptiness now that the series is over. It's like coming down from a sugar rush. And some, crazy as it may sound, may need counselling for it, especially if they've been immersed in fan sites, etc.

I've read stories in the last day or so about the Publishing Machine's speculation over what will 'fill the gap'. I don't think anything will, or anything that is consciously marketed to be. I know the HP publicity machine went into overdrive, but the fact of the matter is that the initial frenzy occurred via libraries and schools; it was a slow burner, driven by word of mouth and a damn good story. The Next Big Thing can't be orchestrated, and it shouldn't even be attempted until people have had time to process the fallout from this Big Thing and dealt with the sense of loss.

People who don't dig HP will be rolling their eyes at this. But others will know what I mean. Some people around me are reading HP7 slowly to prolong that exquisite sensation; others, like myself, devoured it in hours. Either way, you get to the end. And if JKR keeps her word (and there's no proof of her ever going back on it), it will be The End. And that leaves a very big gap, right in the middle of your chest.

Pavlov's Cat speculated if millions of people reading the same books at the same time would exert some kind of gravitational pull. I think so... downwards.

Meanwhile, I think they're halfway through. Best Beloved's voice is hanging in there, and I'm getting lonely and antsy. At least the cats get to wander in and listen to bits when they feel like it. I'm tempted to go out and buy a second copy...

Saturday, July 21, 2007

As I type Best Beloved and Bumblebee are at their local Dymocks store playing Harry Potter games and waiting for the first box of Book 7 to be opened. No doubt they will come straight home, jump on our bed and start reading aloud for as long as their voices hold out.

I will wait until they have finished, and by then I should have done all the work I need to do this weekend, have recovered from the slight hangover I incurred from spending seven delightful hours in the company of Zoe, Laura and Dorian (and, for a chunk of it, Cristy and Lily), and have done a wee bit of exercise. Then I can indulge.

If you're a HP fan, happy reading! If not, have a good weekend your own way... and either way, check out Mr Lee's catcam!

UPDATE

BB walked in a little while ago brandishing a book bag and saying

I got it!

Show me! I said.

He reached in and pulled out Christopher Hitchen's God is Not Great.

Bumblebee rushed in soon afterwards, brandishing the real HP7, a poster and a $50 pizza voucher he won for dressing up. Finally, validation for his efforts. It's been a long week.

Tea was made, stories told about fun times in the store and a Freddo frog tossed into my lap, souvenired from the masses of frogs tossed around at the time. Then they settled down onto our big bed. BB said 'OK, let's start' and reached for HP1. After B had finished howling 'NO! We're not starting again' through his giggles, BB commenced. He started with the title page, and then read out the entire copyright page. And then it began. I'm doing my best to tune out as I format a client's PhD thesis about the Maternal Gaze in Photography, but I think I'll have to shut my door. BB does the voices too well!

Monday, July 16, 2007

You'd think that researching the kind of car you wanted, test-driving a few bombs in that model, finding a pristine version at a reputable dealer and paying the top price in the range you'd researched would pretty much allow you to drive out of the car yard and live happily ever after, wouldn't you?

Not in my world, Nelly. We drove to Tumut yesterday to visit my beloved aunties, and thoroughly enjoyed the smooth cruisey world of Holden Commodore. Then, ten minutes into the way back, the power cut out. Nothing. No steering, no brakes except the handbrake. All I could do was vaguely point towards the side of the road and stop. Bugger.

It was a quiet country road with no mobile reception, ten minutes drive from the aunties, but half an hour's walk. Best Beloved was due to fly to WA before dawn the next day, and I was teaching a class the next day, and had hoped to get back in time to ensure that the Book Stud was habitable (lots of workmen skulking though the week spreading toxic MDF dust). Bugger.

And we'd just spent the last hour laughing with Auntie S about her weird and occasionally aggressive neighbours. We hadn't heard anything about nice ones, probably because they're not as amusing lunch conversation.

So when we flagged down a surly-looking old dude in a four-wheel drive, we were a bit nervous, and I made BB get in the car with him for a lift back to the aunties while I sat in the dead car with Bumblebee and read the papers we'd luckily brought with us. BB is tall, and wide, and looks quite tough. He's not, he's an absolute wimp in the snaggiest sense, but they don't need to know that.

Luckily he was one of the good neighbours, and 90 minutes later we were driving my auntie's spare car (she has a ute and a long-distance car), following our shiny grey Holden which was towed by the local NRMA teenager mechanic. I remembered to pluck my ANU parking permit off the windscreen before we wended our way back along the Hume, stopping only for lapfuls of hot chips, which is the sort of comfort food you want to eat when you've been pissed off by the side of the road for over an hour in winds straight off the snowy mountains.

One of the advantages in researching the kind of car you wanted, test-driving a few bombs in that model, finding a pristine version at a reputable dealer and paying the top price in the range you'd researched, is that the car comes with a 3-month warranty, and so we don't have to pay a cent for the inconvenience, and luckily my auntie is coming to Canberra on Thursday anyway, so we can do a car-swap then.

But Dolly has lost our trust. She still has our love, but we're going to be warier with her until she proves to us that she's not going to leave us stranded again. We miss Suby-Ruby, because at least when she broke down we could SEE what was wrong with her (especially the time her radiator exploded and shot green shite all over the windscreen!), and with Modern Miss Dolly it's all hidden in facings and computers. Sigh.

In other news, my class today went well, although it's very hard to teach a group the basics of letterpress in one day. People used to spend years learning this stuff! After three hours of my intensive ramblings, I looked up and saw that if I said even one more word they would implode. So I sent them off to work out what text they wanted to play with next week. I was in such a good mood that as they left I actually waved my arms and said

'Fly, my pretties! Roam free!'

The returning students smiled and walked off. The new ones looked a tad worried. Bumblebee, who is coming in to school with me this week because the Albatross has the flu (it's his holiday access week), snickered. Ah well, who ever said that teachers had to be dignified? Besides, it's hard to look dignified when your son is sitting in the corner of the room dressed up as Harry Potter . . .

Saturday, July 14, 2007

I'm feeling much better, thank you very much. It turns out I *was* having a hormonal overload, but that doesn't excuse the shite I was dragged through early last week. It just explains the complete lack of my usual ability to take a hard situation reasonably well and walk away cheerfully.

Anyhoo, let's move on. Here's the latest:

FOCA

Knit 1 Blog 1 opened last night, as part of the ACT Festival of Contemporary Art. It was great to see a different crowd -- obviously knitters and bloggers -- from the usual opening suspects! There's some very cool knitted stuff in the show; go and have a trawl sometime.

An apology to the lovely person who I met who confessed to having read my blog for ages -- I was completely vague last night! I'd had a very near-hit car accident on the way to the first venue (don't tell BB!), sculled a glass of wine in shock, and I don't think I was really paying much attention to any one thing in particular. It was nice to meet you, though, and if you ever see me again, please reintroduce yourself!

Actually, there were a few things I paid particular attention to at the School of Art Gallery show, before the wine hit the shock (it was the first venue of the FOCA opening crawl): Kate Murphy's video 'Going Out Together' (I hope I got that right), and Charlie Sofo's series of self-portraits, both of which were resonant and evocative.

One of Charlie's works involved him carefully pulling apart a yellow- and green-bristled toothbrush and reassembling the bristles, poking them into cardboard to produce a hairy silhouette of his head, front-on, with the yellow and green stripes intact. Lit from above, the bristles cast very fine shadows, making the portrait even hairier. It sat up on a plinth, with the remnants of the original toothbrush sitting at the front. I kept thinking was a great comment on masculinity, especially when it was across the area from another self-portrait, this time a video.

The video starts with a picture of Jean-Claude Van Damme taking up the whole screen, but then it starts smoking and shifting downwards. It is burning from the bottom, and as it sinks downwards it reveals Charlie himself, sitting quietly behind the picture, staring straight into the camera with the same intense gaze as the Van Damme picture, but in a very neutral, non-threatening pose.

Brilliant. Well, I thought so, anyway. I guess you have to be there. So go there, if you're in Canberra. And that means you can see Kate's video as well. There's also more excellent work by Waratah Lahy, exploring Australia's BIG THINGS, Lauren Simeoni's gorgeous pieces, and Peter Volich's take on sports adoration. That's at the ANU School of Art Gallery.

BUMBLEBEE

I took B to the movies the other day, to see Transformers, a film that despite Harry's warning (sorry, you have to scroll down, I can never select individual posts on For Battle), I still snorted incredulously so hard that my brain nearly split. B was so testosterone-charged afterwards that I applied a hasty poultice of Sense and Sensibility to try and calm him down again. That has been my policy for years, and it's become a wonderful form of damage control. For every overly-masculine thing he's subjected to by his father, stepfather or grandfather, I make him sit through something completely opposite, like a romantic comedy. And bless him, he loves a bit of celluloid, so he's equally happy in front of Spiderman or Notting Hill. In this case he thoroughly enjoyed Emma and Kate romping through the English countryside, and discovered a new softer side to Professor Snape (aka Alan Rickman). And by bedtime, he was completely neutralised, and able to sleep soundly.

But then, the next day, he discovered the wonderful world of Warhammer, thank to his For Battle hero, Harry:

This amassing of armies is only the tip of the iceberg; he pulled out about half the figures and a few machines, and almost swooned with excitement.

He spent most of the chilly winter's afternoon plotting, scheming and battling (no rules, no dice, only his imagination!) and then it took him two days to put them all away again...

I'm certainly not averse to miniature things, and these figurines are amazing. I think my favorites so far are the Beastmen, saucy little animal hybrids:

woof!

Bumblebee has always been a costume lover -- he saw the new Harry Potter movie this afternoon in full HP garb, complete with wand -- but this has now extended through to his everyday clothes. He's adopted a hat, bought in January at the Byron Bay markets, and it very rarely leaves his head, even during school. A few weeks ago we found a tracksuit top in Big W that is black with a sunburst of sewn ridges across the front, like rays of energy, but all in black, and he begged me to buy it for him. Now he seems to have formed a personal uniform -- the hat, the jacket, and a medallion covered in Arabic script that Colonel Duck found on the street in Bega (I'm hoping it's not some secret society marker, but it's more likely to be a coin of some sort). Here's a taste:

I call this 'Sith casualwear'. Without the lightsabre it looks more 'bad-ass gangsta rappa' but in the worst white-boy way. Sigh. I guess he'll grow out of it, literally. He's growing out of jeans faster than I can buy them for him, but he never grows sideways. I'm saving all the out-grown jeans to be cut-offs in summer, and he'll have plenty of pairs!

HARRY P

I got yet another email from Reverend Tim Todd today. He has really got his knickers in a twist about HP5:

My primary objection to the film and the story is the very strong and central theme of witchcraft. This is condemned clearly in Deuteronomy 18:10-12. Ephesians 5:11 says, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” says Evangelist Tim Todd, President of Revival Fires International. I plead with parents to use strong discernment regarding this film. Matt. 18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” My cautions are underscored by the fact that we are living in a day different than The Wizard of Oz. We are technologically “not in Kansas” anymore.

“While Harry Potter is popular even among many Christians, it presents a Godless universe, one in which the most powerful wizard wins,” says Todd. “The hero is a wizard who shows no evidence of belief in God and does not use the power of prayer to combat evil. This is not the vision of the universe that Christian parents should want to instill in their children; nor is “white” magic an appropriate response to evil.”

Todd explains, "The Internet, (which has numerous fan sites hyper-linked to Wican and Witchcraft sites), and this compelling visual film experience could be powerful enough to engage young minds to ponder the "dark side". Many of the toy tie-ins promote spells (55 mentioned so far in the series) and witchcraft. Parents may want to wisely choose their 'potter'."

My response was to take Bumblebee and BB to see the movie today. Of course it was lots of fun, and I can't even begin to tell you how much I fancy Lucius Malfoy and Sirius Black. But the main thing I wanted to say, something that will not be a spoiler in any sense, is that I LOVE the way they've played with traditional broadsheet typography. Absolutely mouthwatering.

Oh enough for today. I need to cook dinner before Dr Who starts. BTW -- did anyone notice the HP7 reference in Dr Who last week?

Friday, July 13, 2007

Argh! My email and internet crashed and burned yesterday afternoon and I am home-netless until a technician can come over and fix it, which should be sometime this afternoon.

Just wanted to say a rousing HUZZAR to Harry and Mindy... we came home yesterday to the sight of TWO huge boxes of Warhammer figurines and sundry accoutrements awaiting Bumblebee on the front verandah. Harry, you are the man, and Mindy, you are a champion courier. I just want to reiterate here and now that we consider Bumblebee a custodian only of these wonders, and they will be waiting for the first For Battle geekbaby to grow up and need them. ForBattlers only need contact us to request them back and you too can battle on with your youngsters.

When I get my home internet back I will post some pictures of the battlefield that used to be my diningroom table! In the meantime I am at art school trying to prepare classes for next week whilst gagging at the refurbishment dust. I think the storm repairs are making more mess than the storm ever did...

* The title of this post comes from eating lunch today... Bumblebee likes to eat a pie with a spoon, but today there were no spoons, so he grudgingly ate it all at once, holding it in his hands. Thinking about centuries of workers wanting non-messy warm lunches, I asked him why he thought pies were invented. This was his answer.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

This morning the banksia tree decided to have a dance with the camelia bush behind my home office's roman blind. It was so lovely I sat and watched it for ages and then decided to capture it for future dreaminess.

It reminded me a bit of Laura's kitchen blind, which would probably evoke similar dreaminesses.

Monday, July 09, 2007

I've had a really crap day today, so I'm going to do some dot points about nice things that have happened recently to try and jolly myself up:

-- I saw the Lambert Retrospective the weekend before last (I can't look at his name without an earworm starting up that goes Laaaaambert, the sheepish lion...). It's pretty good; pretty, and good. He was a KILLER draughtsman.

-- I've been to two good movies in the last fortnight:1. The Dead Girl, which was excellent. It's a very feminist, female-centred (I think they can be separate but compatible terms) film. It raises a lot of questions, which still bother me in the night after a week.

2. Black Book, or Zwartboek. This is a very fun but gruelling and action-packed film with lots of Nazis and heros and plot twists. Do see it. I'm not into violent WWII movies, but this one had lovely shades of grey in its morals.

-- I had a scrummy lunch at Zoe's on Saturday, then a few hours later...

-- ... she and I (and Jethro) met Tigtog for tea at The Front, a gallery/cafe in Lyneham which is a better venue than Tilleys because it is(a) friendlier(b) cheaper(c) funkier(d) host to a Ukelele class on late saturday afternoonsTigtog and her family were great fun, and thank you to them for still turning up in the abysmal weather. Jethro seemed to have a fun time, which meant Zoe got out of the house and her 4-yo cabin-fevered offsprung (singular offspring?) for a while.

-- I bought a compositor's table from a mate who had been storing his clamps in it for years and was cleaning out his workshop... all metal, with spaces for holding letterpress furniture and a big separate flat cast-iron tabletop, perfect for clamping up type. Of course, it weighs a f*ck of a lot, and it took four of us (me being the smallest and weakest) to carry it in two parts off the trailer and on to my front verandah. I don't have anywhere to put it until I can find a studio, so it's going to sit out the front under a bright green tarp for a year or so. The cats love it, especially in the afternoon when the metal heats up.

-- We bought a new carrom board at our favorite Indian supply shop in Belconnen. We already have a small version, and it's like a kid's size board, but we'd promised ourselves we'd get a full-size one some day. This one was on the wall of the shop, and the price on it was $105, which was about what the small one cost us. When we asked after it, we were told it was their display model and the last one, and they offered it to us for $90, including all the little pieces! You bet. When we brought it home we realised that it was four times bigger than our old board, and in fact big enough to be a dinner table for us (we have such a small house!). I need to take a photo of the thing to show you, but it's shoved under our bed until we can find a place to set up and play! One idea is to cart it down to our local and start playing it regularly there. We might attract some competitors!

-- I said I had a shitty day, but in fact it was just the afternoon. I honestly can't tell you why, because I'll get keelhauled if I do, but suffice to say that one day I'll get to say my bit. I sobbed all the way home in the car, poured a big glass of wine and pulled out BB's Nintendo DS and thrashed lots of pirates in the new Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End game. It's very cathartic. And then I got stuck. Does anyone out there know where I'm supposed to find the Grappling Hook?

-- So here I am. Bumblebee is away with his grandparents until tomorrow, and then he goes away with his dad on Friday for a week. I'm trying to get all the work I have to do done before he gets back, so that we can chill out together for the 3 days I get to see him, but I'm not succeeding. Sigh.

Maybe I'm premenstrual. But I'm in that kind of mood where if poor old BB suggested that, I'd bite his head off. Blah.

Friday, July 06, 2007

I've been on the mailing list for the Tim Todd Revival Fires/Truth for Youth ministry ever since I bought a copy of their Truth for Youth bible to add to BB's collection of weird and wonderful Christian printed ephemera. Normally I would unsubscribe from such lists soon after discovering I'm on them, but I've kept this one going because it keeps me in touch with the wacky world of fundamental missionaries.

One week they're saving Africa, another week they're sending stuff to the troops in Iraq. This week they are girding their loins and dusting off their loudhailers in preparation for the release of the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:

The dangerous spiritual nature of the new Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Movie due to come out on Friday, July 13, is exposed through the comic book, Hairy Polarity and the Sinister Sorcery Satire, published by Revival Fires International located in West Monroe, LA.

“While Harry Potter is popular even among many Christians, it presents a Godless universe, one in which the most powerful wizard wins,” says Evangelist Tim Todd, President of Revival Fires International. “The hero is a wizard who shows no evidence of belief in God and does not use the power of prayer to combat evil. This is not the vision of the universe that Christian parents should want to instill in their children; nor is “white” magic an appropriate response to evil.”

The Hairy Polarity Comic is also included in the popular Truth for Youth, which has been enthusiastically endorsed by Pat Boone, the late, Bill Bright, the late, Jerry Falwell, T.D. Jakes, Actor Dean Jones, Art Linkletter, Rod Parsley, Michael Reagan and many other prominent leaders. Truth for Youth bibles may be purchased at http://www.thetruthforyouth.com/paypal.htm

The Truth for Youth, designed by Todd, is a New Testament with powerful comics that deal with “absolute truths” from a biblical perspective, addressing the moral issues that young people are confronted with. More than 1.2 million copies have been distributed to youth in an attempt to respond to the liberal agenda that is being promoted aggressively in public schools.

Todd concludes, “The Hairy Polarity comic book creatively informs the reader of the many explicit examples of appalling evil in the Harry Potter Movie, such as, blood sacrifice, animal sacrifice, demon possession, levitation, divination, shifting humans into animals, communing with the dead, bringing evil wizards back from the dead through the shedding of blood, only to mention a few.”

As we approach the release of the new and last Harry Potter Movie, Todd is encouraging concerned parents and leaders to obtain quantities of the Hairy Polarity and the Sinister Sorcery Satire comic book and distribute them as an informative resource. The Hairy Polarity comic book and the Truth for Youth Bible are both available at http://www.thetruthforyouth.com/paypal.htm

You'll notice that I'm not afraid to hand over their contact details. Go nuts. I highly recommend both publications for a really ridiculously stupid read. I've reviewed this comic before; their version of the Bible is very entertaining as well, with extra comics about converting gays and vanquishing other enemies of the free world.As far as I'm concerned, this all revolves around humourless and unimaginitive people using fear to enforce their narrow-minded views. I'm just counting the days until Tim Todd is arrested for some really juicy scandal involving transgender crack dealers in witch costumes. It's bound to happen, don't you think?

And in the meantime I shall go on reading the books, watching the movies, and counting the days.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Yesterday, Colonel Duck was just about to shake the hand of little Johnny Howard in Bega (he'd spurned the joybuzzer I'd wanted him to wear) when this happened.

I'm sorry my father missed his moment. To his credit, I don't think he was really all that keen on the idea. I would, however, like him to click this link (the rest of you feel free as well) to see what REAL parental political advice looks like.

Monday, July 02, 2007

I thought, since I need to know for the workshop mentioned below, that I'd brush up on the developments in Blogger template technology. I've fixed that annoying double comments thing that was lurking in my own template, but I'm loath to tinker further with it because I like it (for now...).

So I started a new blog, just for practice. Feel free to interact with it if you'd like, cause I probably won't spend a lot of time on it. I'm trying to write posts for about three other blogs as it is at the moment, and failing dismally. But I'm more than happy to mount other people's posts on it if you feeling like playing with the kitties. There are some fun links on it.

OK all you knitting bloggers -- if you haven't come out of the woodwork already to Craft ACT's call, now is your chance to be part of a fun event coming soon to your browser... Knit 1 Blog 1!

It's a knitting/blogging exhibition with both virtual and real qualities.

There will be large screens projecting blogs by knitters or knitters who blog, display cases of blogged knits (including, I might add, the fabulous knitted kits made for me by Kate), workshops for knitters and a workshop on blogging. And they've got their own blog about it all too.

Now, I can knit, but I can't purl. I can blog, even if it gets a bit patchy, and I can definitely talk. So I've been asked to host the blogging workshop.

No question too dumb! I put in the blurb. I hope they understand that it's a two-way street. Some of my answers may be fabulously dumb. But it's a 90 minute session, with half an hour for me to have a quick rant about blogging -- how to comment, how to set yourself up, how to find like-minded blogs (and how to be mindful that you're writing to the entire interwebs, not just your mates, or you might end up with your very own ker-boom! moment*), yada, yada, yada.

The other hour is for people to take turns on the computers (or bring their own laptops) and I will hang around showing them how to install site meters and flickr accounts and the like and probably swapping lots of jolly jape stories.

When I was asked to do this workshop I felt a bit wrong for the job -- I mean, there are huge glitches with my blog template which I've been too busy to iron out, and I'm way behind in internut advances, but I figure I'm close to the end of my 3rd year of blogging, and I love helping people with their problems, so meh to the insecurities. It'll be a hoot. And so many of you have written excellent posts on the nature of blogging that I have a swathe of links to pass on and discuss. This is just one of them. Anyone I use will be fully attributed, of course.

Knit 1 Blog 1 starts on the 14th of July at the Craft ACT galleries, located in the North Building in Civic, opposite the ACT Government headquarters, and beside the Canberra Theatre. They're on the 1st floor above CMAG, and if you go there you'll pass in the stairwell that statue of Al Grassby that has been in the news so much...

*I call ker-boom moments those times when a blog comments thread is pulling someone to bits merrily and then that person or one of their mates comes on board and protests. There is a virtual KER-BOOM! which is a huge silence that contains everyone's shock and then hours later people start tentatively posting comments again. Feel free to tell me about the favorite ker-boom moment in your blogging experience!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Zoe sent me this link today, which, for those who can't be bothered clicking the link, is an article about the rise of the LOLcat and a discussion about how LOL language has stumped linguists.

I'd like to direct Andrew Ramadge, the author of this article, and anyone else who hasn't just gone 'DUH', to this link, which addresses the roots of LOL lingo. Zoe attached it to our flickr group Text on ur cat to provide a bit of interweb cred to our motives.

Cos, u no, we don wanna seem dum or nuffing. I'm sure there are other sites outlining the gaming roots of LOLtext, so why such a mystery, Andrew?

POSTSCRIPT: the author strikes back! See comments for more details. A gripping tale of remorse, rationalisation and forgiveness. I heart the interwebs.

About Me

Working, playing, underthinking and overthinking. These are my thoughts; click my picture if you'd like to see my work in a more structured way.

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Chicks rule!

Less an exhortation to vote than a gleeful recognition that right here, right now, the chain of command is all women for this brief political moment. Click on the image if you like this so much that you'd like to wear it, or even sip from it.